Jonathan Martin Named Political Correspondent at The New York Times

POLITICO’s Jonathan Martin is going to The New York Times as to be their national political correspondent, Carolyn Ryan, the recently named political editor announced today in a newsroom memo. Mr. Martin, who was a senior political reporter at Politico, was one the site’s earliest hires.

POLITICO, for their part, wrote their own newsroom memo. which was obtained by FishbowlDC, where they tried to frame their loss as a positive and explained that, although Mr. Martin told them he was leaving for the Times today, they were not surprised by the news.

“Jonathan told us today that he is leaving home to take a big and challenging job as national political correspondent with The New York Times. This discussion has been underway for some time as many (all?) of you may know, so this news did not come as a surprise,” the POLITICO memo said. “From the personal perspective, it is a sad day for us, even as we understand his decision and the hard thought that went into it. We are proud of how Jonathan’s great natural potential has blossomed at POLITICO, and he has our best wishes and continued friendship.”

“From the POLITICO perspective, this is a day less for regret than excitement. We have an opportunity—indeed, from both Robert Allbritton and Fred Ryan we have an unambiguous order—to use this moment as a springboard.”

Meanwhile, the Times wrote that Mr. Martin is really into the Times (which is good, since that’s where he is going).

“Jonathan is a huge fan and student of the Times,” Ms. Ryan wrote. “He is eager to team up with the gifted political reporters we have here, especially the supremely talented Jim Rutenberg – much as Jim did with Jeff Zeleny, who drove our stellar coverage of the 2012 race.”

Full Times memo below:

To the Staff:

I’m delighted to announce that Jonathan Martin will be our national political correspondent.

The job is a storied and special one at The Times, and has been home to such giants as Robin Toner, Adam Nagourney, Rick Berke, and, of course, R. W. Apple.

Jonathan is a natural for the role: he has an unending passion for politics, an intrepid journalistic spirit and an astonishingly extensive Rolodex.

He also has a deep love of political history (ask him about his LBJ fixation, when you meet him) and a startlingly detailed knowledge of campaigns and candidates at every level.

Jonathan, 36, was among the first hires at Politico and spent two years on the campaign trail writing about the historic 2008 presidential campaign. He then became White House correspondent, traveling across the country and overseas with President Obama.

After covering the midterm contests in 2010, he served as Politico’s senior reporter on the 2012 campaign, winning praise for his ability to break big news and offer ahead-of-the-curve reporting and analysis.

He came to Politico from The National Review and previously worked for National Journal’s political publication, The Hotline.

Jonathan is a huge fan and student of The Times. He is eager to team up with the gifted political reporters we have here, especially the supremely talented Jim Rutenberg – much as Jim did with Jeff Zeleny, who drove our stellar coverage of the 2012 race.

A Virginian, Jonathan is a graduate of Hampden-Sydney College and is married to Betsy Fischer Martin, senior executive producer of Meet the Press. He is an adventurous explorer and appreciator of all corners of America, especially BBQ joints, state capitol buildings and Fenway Park.